Sunday, November 15, 2015

What France Can Learn from Israel in Confronting Islamist Terror

As my French friends, colleagues, and acquaintances agonize over
what is to be done in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, the best advice I
can think of is to look at Israel.

This tragedy was not “France’s 9/11.” Al-Qaeda effectively
depleted its stateside human assets in that attack and never regained the
ability to strike the American heartland. This is France’s Al-Aqsa Intifada –
unfortunately, more of the same is absolutely going to follow. Whatever one's
political predisposition to Israeli counterterrorism policies may be, its
success fighting Islamist terror over the past two decades is the only
real-world model for overcoming the specific challenges France now faces.

Here are some of the main takeaways.

French
soldiers patrol beneath the Eiffel Tower.

First, it’s time to sacrifice some freedoms of convenience. Most
Israelis don’t know what it’s like to walk into a mid-size concert venue of
the kind targeted in France without passing through a metal detector and
their government intends to keep it that way. They may gripe about it, but
they would feel less free if their government wasn’t inconveniencing them on
a daily basis.

Second, go ahead and profile. All of the jihadists bent on
terrorizing France have some obvious commonalities. The reason Israel’s Ben
Gurion International Airport is considered the gold standard of airline
security is that Israeli screeners are encouraged to single out passengers
for extra scrutiny on the basis of religion, age, gender, and so forth, while
waving the vast majority through terminals more quickly. Not even the most
seasoned terrorist is likely to take the risk of running this gauntlet if he
knows for certain he’s going to find himself in a room full of inquisitive
Israelis.

French
rally outside after the attacks. Their message: "We are not
afraid."

Third, recognize that deterrence isn’t fair. Since it’s
impossible to dissuade suicide bombers with the threat of certain death or
bodily harm, you have to threaten things they care about. Israel’s policy of
demolishing the family homes of Palestinian terrorists may not be altogether
“just,” but it’s necessary to counter the overwhelmingly positive social
approval and financial benefits these families receive for contributing “martyrs”
to the cause.

If being related to a terrorist isn’t already a deeply
unpleasant experience in France, make it so. Understand that it’s neither
possible nor desirable to ensure that terrorists are the only ones paying a
price for their terrorism. Make whatever efforts to avoid harming innocents
are consistent with your values, but don’t let the backlash from armchair
counter-terrorists and Francophobes abroad dictate policy.

Fourth, target the brains behind terrorist infrastructure. Go
after the people responsible for recruiting, financing, training, motivating
and directing Jihadis, not just the foot soldiers. Prosecute them if you can,
but if they’re overseas don’t be afraid to dispense swifter justice. Though
controversial when Israel first adopted targeted killing as a
counterterrorism tool, most governments (including most notably the Obama
administration) now recognize its effectiveness. The number of fatalities
from suicide bombings in Israel dropped from hundreds in 2002 to zero in
2010.

French
riot police end a manifestation in Paris.

Fifth, fight the incitement. Americans can still afford to
pretend that Islamist hate speech and indoctrination has little to do with
terrorist violence, but France can’t. The French government took a step in
the right direction when it deported 40 Islamists accused of incitement in June
of this year. It needs to go further. Instead of avoiding the banlieues,
rings of Muslim majority neighborhoods around French cities that are
impoverished, crime-ridden, and blighted, gendarmeries and intelligence
services should sweep into these suburbs and place community centers,
mosques, and high rises under surveillance. Checkpoints should be setup at
the entrances to Islamist havens and searches conducted on those commuting in
and out of these areas.

Sixth, France must prioritize national security interests over
sectarian grievances. It’s understandable that French Muslims are frustrated
by their socio-economic marginalization, and there is surely room for
improvement in how the authorities treat this estranged minority. But the
rights and wrongs of this issue don’t diminish France’s right to defend
itself or alter fundamental realities about what it takes to do that.

French
Muslims rally in support of Hezbollah in a Paris suburb.

Finally, at the risk of belaboring the obvious, France must
control and monitor its borders if it wishes to avoid a repeat of Friday’s
terror attacks. The ability of at least one of the attackers to claim refugee
status in Greece and move onto France was an intelligence failure of the
highest degree. As Sweden, Germany, Austria, and other countries reconsider
Schengen, an agreement that allows uninhibited movement around Europe, so too
should France. The French Interior ministry instituted border controls
immediately after the attack. This change should be permanent.

As President François Hollande declared after the attacks,
France is reeling from an “act of war,” not a crime wave. Israel has
demonstrated that it is possible to win such wars, but this isn’t for the
faint-hearted.

Gregg Roman is Director of the Middle
East Forum, a think tank based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.